Hershey Bears (17-16-1-1) vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (15-17-2-1)
Giant Center
Friday January 11, 2013 

Season Series:
Bears lead season series 6-1-0-0

Last Meeting:
The Bears got a 4-1 victory over the Baby Pens in Northeast PA back on December 27th, sweeping the home and home. Dany Sabourin turned away 26 of 27 to get the win while the Bears got goals from Boyd Kane, Matt Beaudoin, Garrett Mitchell and the game winner from Steve Oleksy to take away the two points on enemy ice.

Next Meeting:
The AHL Outdoor Classic at HersheyPark Stadium next Sunday January 20 @ 5 PM.

Entering Tonight’s Tilt:
The Bears came from behind to beat Bridgeport in OT at the Webster Bank Arena on Tuesday night. Tomas Kundratek scored his second of the game in OT to win it for the Chocolate & White after Evan Barlow scored his second of the year to tie it mid-way through the third. WB/S was blanked knocked off 3-1 on home ice by Binghamton on Wednesday night, The Baby Pens generated a lot of shots but only one goal in the loss. 

The Ups & Downs & Ins & Outs:
The Bears lost goaltender Braden Holtby and defenseman Cam Schilling to Washington after the lockout ended last weekend and both are to participate in Capitals abbreviated training camp when it starts up sometime this weekend. Schilling should be back with the Bears at some point barring any injuries, Holtby will not and his career as a Bear is most likely over. To replace them the Bears recalled goaltender Philipp Grubauer and defenseman Brett Flemming from Reading, while assigning forwards Matt Pope and Alex Berry to Reading earlier this week. The only recent transaction for the Baby Pens is the reassignment of forward Keven Veilleux to the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL earlier today. The Baby Pens are expected to lose forwards Beau Bennett and Eric Tangradi, and defenseman Robert Bortuzzo (and maybe Simon Despres and Brian Straight, both defensemen) to recall for Penguins camp in Pittsburgh, but that recall has not occurred yet and they will probably all play tonight.

Players To Watch:
After a horrid last few weeks, Tomas Kundratek proved that he is still a dangerous offensive threat as he netted a pair, including the OT game winner against Bridgeport on Tuesday. On a team struggling offensively, he will be looked upon to shoulder a bit of the load. This may be the last time the Bears get to play against ‘Bear Killer’ Eric Tangradi. Always good for a least a point when he plays the Chocolate & White, the Bears will have to key in on him in order to keep their success against the Baby Pens going.

Between The Pipes:
The Bears will go with veteran Dany Sabourin tonight while WB/S (although unconfirmed at this point) will most likely counter with Jeff Zatkoff.

Injuries & Scratches:
The only injury scratch for the Bears at this point is going to be defenseman Dmitry Orlov (upper body). At this point, there is no information on any possible WB/S scratches, healthy or otherwise.

Road Ahead:
The Bears will return to Giant Center tomorrow & Sunday night for two straight games at home vs. the Connecticut Whale (7 PM Saturday, 5 PM Sunday).

Leading Scorers:
Bears
Jeff Taffe – 8g, 27a – 35 pts
Jon DiSalvatore – 10g, 16a – 26 pts
Tomas Kundratek – 11g, 9a – 20 pts

Penguins
Beau Bennett – 6g, 17a – 23 pts
Trevor Smith – 11g, 10a – 21 pts
Riley Holzapfel – 9g, 12a – 21 pts